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Monday, 30 May 2016

In terms of rental
growth, Connaught Place with 10% year-on-year rise is second only to Hong Kong,
followed by Tokyo and Shanghai at 9.1% and 7.5%, respectively

MUMBAI: Robust demand
from occupiers and limited supply of grade A offices have continued to push
rentals in prime Indian office space markets including Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla
Complex, Connaught Place in New Delhi and Bengaluru's MG Road.

In terms
of rental growth, Connaught Place with 10% year-on-year rise is second only to
Hong Kong, followed by Tokyo and Shanghai at 9.1% and 7.5%, respectively. Prime
rentals in Bengaluru and Mumbai have also seen annual rental growth rates rise
steadily over the past eight quarters and rose 4.9% and 2.9%, respectively,
during the first quarter of 2016, showed Knight Frank Asia Pacific Prime Office
Rental Index.

"As
vacancy rates in these markets are now in single digits with very little office
space coming up in the next 12 months, we expect this strong rental growth
trend to continue in the next 12 months for Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru
prime offices," said Samantak Das, chief economist, Knight Frank India.

According
to Das, the rising rentals are effective result of falling vacancy rates
indicating good demand and constrained supply of grade A office spaces as most
developers did not launch any major commercial projects since 2009.

Thursday, 26 May 2016

The 41-acre plot (16.5
hectares) is currently used as a customs godown -known as the Suleman Shah
compound-and part of it is marked as a green belt

MUMBAI: In the first major construction
on salt pan land in the city since the 1991 coastal regulations, a Rs
2,000-crore office-cum-residential complex of the Government of India will come
up over the next five years on the salt pan tracts at Wadala.

The 41-acre plot (16.5 hectares) is
currently used as a customs godown -known as the Suleman Shah compound-and part
of it is marked as a green belt. On May 7, the state urban development
department notified a change in the use of the land from godown to office,
residence and a sports complex. Land is a state subject. The Central Board of
Excise and Customs plans to build two twin towers to house 28 offices, 1,700
residential flats for officials of excise, customs and service tax, and a
sports complex for the residents' use.

D Stalin, director of NGO Vanashakti,
said Garodia Nagar at Ghatkopar was built on salt pan land more than 40 years
ago. "This will certainly be one of the biggest constructions in recent
years and will open the floodgates for construction on salt pans," he
said.

The BMC has identified 265 hectares of
salt pan land for affordable housing in its revised draft Development Plan
which will be publicized later in the week.

Two parcels of the customs land-14 acres
and three acres-are on one side of the Eastern Freeway and will be used for the
offices. Another 24 acres on the other side of the elevated road will be used
for the residences and the sports complex.

A senior customs officer said three
parcels of salt pan land (14 acres, 24 acres and three acres) at Wadala were
handed over to the board in 2003. Another 13 acres given to customs was given
for the development of the Anik-Wadala bus depot.

The property became attractive for real
estate development after construction of the Eastern Freeway. The official said
the Freeway has provided easy access to the area. A subway is proposed to
connect the residential quarters to the offices and the department plans to
introduce the 'walk to work' concept. The construction will be done either by
the central public works department or a public sector construction company. In
case of the latter, e-tenders will be invited, said the official.

"In 2004, the Centre set up an
advisory board to construct an office complex here. In 2005 and again in 2008,
there was part deletion of the plot from godown to office complex. In 2011, the
finance ministry gave an in-principle approval for the project. Last week, the
state urban development department issued the notification for the final
deletion," said the official.

The
need for the complex was felt as there is a growing number of officials and
shortage of residential quarters in the city. Another residential complex for
customs employees is coming up in Kharghar.Credit : http://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Saturday, 21 May 2016

The IKEA store in Mumbai is expected to have more than 5
million visitors per year. IKEA said, this step is yet another confirmation of
IKEA's large expansion plans in India

BENGALURU
| MUMBAI: IKEA, the Swedish home furnishings company is setting up a 4 lakh sft
store close to Mumbai, the company said. The proposed store will come up on a
23 acres land parcel located in Navi Mumbai on Thane Belapur Road, second in
India after Hyderabad.

Juvencio
Maeztu, Chief Executive Officer, IKEA India, said, "Maharashtra is one of
the most important market for IKEA. Along with setting up retail stores, we
will expand our supplier landscape and grow local sourcing as much as possible.
Each IKEA store will employ 500-700 coworkers directly and another 1500
indirectly, engaged in providing services."

The
IKEA store in Mumbai is expected to have more than 5 million visitors per year.
IKEA said, this step is yet another confirmation of IKEA's large expansion
plans in India.

In
March, ET reported that the Tata Group company Rallis India has signed an
agreement with IKEA India for assignment of its leasehold rights for 26-acre
land at MIDC Industrial Area in Navi Mumbai's Turbhe-Belapur Road locality for
Rs 214 crore.

Principle
Secretary Industry Maharashtra, Apurva Chandra, said " We believe that
IKEA will work as a catalyst in our development plans. The government is
committed to provide the necessary support to IKEA forits future expansion
plans in the state."

"We
are committed to having 50% women in our organization at all levels and giving
equal opportunities to all. We will bring a unique shopping experience through
our inspiring stores offering affordable home furnishing products for the many
people in Mumbai," said Maeztu

IKEA has
been sourcing from India for the 30 years for its global stores. In India, it
currently has 50 suppliers with 45,000 direct employees and 400,000 people in
the extended supply chain.

The IKEA
Group is the first major single brand retailer to get FDI approval and plans to
open several stores in Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The
company is planning to invest Rs 10,500 crore to open 25 stores in the country,
with focus on Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Friday, 20 May 2016

Moving isn't cheap.
And really, it shouldn't be. If it is, you might find out how
expensive it can get when all of your valuable possessions have been destroyed
in the move! Whether you’re hiring a company to help you relocate, or you’re
planning a DIY (Do It Yourself) adventure, keep these handy tips in your pocket
to protect your goods.

1. Use the
right-sized boxes. Small boxes are ideal for heavy, dense
objects ( books), while larger ones are preferable for lighter items such as
pillows and comforters. A large, heavy box is more likely to split or crush
other items, so keep an eye on each boxes’ size-to-weight ratio.

2. Fill until it’s
still. If a box is rattling around, you’re risking damage.
Fill in the empty space with towels, padding, or other cushioning items to
isolate the valuable contents from stop/start or shaking motions.

3. Pad and
side-load dishes. Place bubble wrap or packing
paper between dishes and wrap bundles of four or more with extra padding. Be
sure to pack dishes on their sides, not flat. This will mitigate the hazard of
shattering from accidental side impact! Padding in the bottom and top of the
box will provide an additional layer of insurance, too.

4. Don’t flatten
out your flat-screen. Spend the money on a special
packing box for your flat-screen LCD and/or plasma TV. Having the original
shipping box is best, but an aftermarket die-cut, foam-supported kit will save
you the hundreds in replacement costs. (Also: Don’t lay the TV flat or stack
any boxes on top.)

5. Tape in the
reinforcements. Taping all the way around the top and bottom edges
will provide additional support to the areas where most of the load is
distributed.

6.
Keep tiny things with big value to yourself. Anything
that’s small and irreplaceable should be set aside and kept with you during the
move. This might be your grandmother’s heirloom necklace, vital financial/legal
documents, or special family photo collections.

Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Even as a controversy has been hotting up over
BMC's proposal to use No-Development Zones (NDZ) for affordable housing, city
planners said the civic body has already marked roads and other amenities for
these zones.

The BMC, which is in the final stage of drafting
the Development Control Regulations (DCR) 2034 for the Development Plan (DP),
has said that the area which it has proposed to open up for affordable housing
has been well planned. An FSI of 4 has been proposed for affordable housing in
the DP -a provision which had not been made in the earlier DP . The planners
say that they have been very careful, especially as they do not want those
living in the affordable homes to be deprived of municipal services or any
other amenities.

In the DP 2034, the BMC has proposed to create 1
million affordable homes over the next 20 years on NDZ, Tourism Development
Area (TDA), salt pan, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) and Mhada plots.

According to the DP 1991, there were 13,706.32
hectares of NDZ land, of which 10,351.59 hectares are transferred to `natural
areas' which planners said is ecologically sensitive land and will not be
touched.

Of the remaining 3,354.73 hecatres NDZ land, 658.35
hectares includes existing gaothans, slums, industries and ro ads. Of the
balance 2,696.38 hectares of NDZ land, 2,100 hectares are proposed for
affordable housing on which the civic body has marked amenities and roads.

Chembur resident Rajkumar Sharma said it suits BMC
well to propose NDZ land for affordable housing. “BMC knew well that proposing
such land parcels for anything other than affordable housing would mean a lot
more resistance.BMC needs to know it is play ing with nature by doing this and
there is no coming back once we use these areas for construction. Sad that
while we're reviewing an open space policy and taking back plots from private
parties, we're using no development zones and salt plans for construction.“

Activist Shyama Kulkarni from Bandra questioned the
need to mark municipal roads.“Why are they using NDZ and salt pan land? It will
only burden the existing infrastructure.“

Monday, 16 May 2016

One
set of developers are happy that the RERA would boost Indian real estate
business by around 25-30 percent while other set is of the opinion that the
bill has plenty of loopholes

With an aim to
boost Indian real estate sector by around 25-30 percent, control black money
being stashed into the business, increase FDI flow into the national realty and
stop fraudulent activities being done by hordes of middle men involved into the
sector, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority got implemented on May 1 in India.
The new development was hailed by majority of the Indian realtors but there
were some developers who had their fingers crossed as the authority fails to
address some major issues like dual regulation in districts where there already
exists an authority looking after the sector, leaving the lease issue untouched
etc.

Naveen Raheja,
Chairman, NAREDCO said, “The real estate sector contributes around six percent
of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the wake of this long awaited
Regulatory Bill (RERA), I expect further boost in the sector to the tune of
around 25-30 percent annually.” Means our contribution to the Indian GDP would
grow from 6 percent to around 7.5 percent.

Asked about black
money loops getting choked into the sector due to this legislation Raheja said,
“Black money is in sync with the white money. Since, there have been various
majors being announced by the union government to bring black money into the
main stream, I expect the black money coming into the real estate through white
gates and giving an additional boost to the realty sector that would be in sync
with the growth we are expecting due to the legislation.” If we go by Raheja’s
expectations, then the contribution of the Indian Real Estate sector into the
Indian GDP in next two to three years can be easily found into the double digit
numbers.

On Real Estate
sector attracting Foreign Direct investment (FDI) Raheja of NAREDCO said, “Real
Estate is currently the fourth-largest sector in the country in terms of
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows. Total FDI in the construction
development sector during April 2000–May 2015 stood at around $24.07 billion.”
He said that in the wake of slowdown in Euro Zone and other developed economies
global investors have been looking for ideal destination for investment.

Standing in sync
with Raheja; Kushagr Ansal, Director, Ansal Housing said, “Indian economy has
already witnessed a massive FDI inflow over the last one year specially, riding
with the reforms and amendments made. Real Estate Act will promote transparency
and fair dealings in the sector; something that every entity looks into while
entering into a new country. Real Estate sector is a big contributor towards
FDI inflow and we are anticipating an annual growth in FDI inflow by 7-10
percent.”

Getamber Anand,
President, CREDAI — Realtor’s apex body in India said, “The bill would bring
credibility to real estate business and endorse our demand of giving infra
status to housing.” He, however, said the bringing ongoing projects under this
bill would lead to stoppage of work on the site in order to ensure compliances.

“Real estate
sector is entirely sentiment driven in India and this is very much visible
looking at how the market is behaving today. Real Estate Act holds high
importance for a country like India, where opportunities are in abundance and
starting such a business is easy. Real Estate Act will now ensure fair play and
protect interest of the buyers, something that was missing earlier. The lost
demand will pick up very soon and we’ll have a much improved market few years
down the line”, avers Deepak Kapoor, President CREDAI-Western UP &
Director, Gulshan Homz.

“It has been
always observed that good things are hard to digest initially and this will be
a case here as well. With each transaction to be monitored and a regulator
sitting to supervise, fraudulent activities will be completely eradicated which
will also see a lot many businesses making exits. This might reduce the supply
for some time and demand will now come roaring, riding with security and
credibility in the sector”, explains Rupesh Gupta, Director, JM Housing.

“Developers and
channel partners, who have been working ethically, will continue to put their
best efforts, as they don’t have to worry about anything. But those who have
been in the shady business will become invisible very soon. These phases will
dent the demand in the realty sector for some time, but when it will revive,
there will be a much bright future”, elucidates Vikas Bhasin, MD, Saya Group.

“Real Estate Act
has been drafted and executed keeping the general public in mind. This Act will
safeguard the interests of every buyer which will allow a transparent and
secured route to transact in future. Once the Act becomes fully functional in
each state, grievances will not remain unanswered, and will come with a
definite solution. This will help the buyers to rebuild the lost demand in the
market and allow realty sector to be an even more ethical contributor towards
Indian economy”, enlightens Rakesh Yadav, Chairman, Antriksh India.

“The work to
sanitise the realty sector has begun with still a lot of scope to further
promote this sector. Pricing and timely possession factors are ones that hurt
the most which can be answered properly when developers are able to build on
time and build at decent cost. Thus, Industry Status and Single Window
Clearance are yet to be looked upon and we are hopeful of their passage soon.
Overall, the fraternity has warmly welcomed and accepted the Real Estate Act
and is looking forward for its effect to get visible soon”, concludes Rahul
Chamola, MD, One Leaf Group.

However, there are
some loopholes that have not been taken care of while drafting the RERA Bill,
said some of the developers.

Ankit Aggarwal,
CMD, Devika Group said, “There are still several loopholes in the existing Real
Estate Act. In districts where there are already authorities existing, presence
of a regulator might create conflict of interests. There needs to be a clear
demarcation for the roles of authority and the regulator, as otherwise, buyers
will be in a haywire situation.”

Zeroing upon the
lease holding issue; Rahul Chamola, MD, One Leaf Group said, “One of the major
cause of concerns that will arise in regions with leasehold land will be the
expiry of lease, where the ownership will be lost after a specified timeline.
Every buyer buys a property and registers it to become the owner, but in cases
where the authority has sold the land to builders on lease, will make the
owners loose its ownership someday. Real Estate Act should have taken this
issue into account, as homebuyers are the ones who will be the ones to bear the
brunt.”

Saturday, 14 May 2016

Real Estate Investment Trust Funds (REIT) in the retail sector
would be saviour for all the investments locked in those high costs assets,
according to experts.

“There is around 70-75 million sq feet of retail
real estate space that is REITable including 16 million in Mumbai and 25
million in Delhi-NCR,” KPMG in India partner and head of building, construction
and real estate sector Neeraj Bansal said, while speaking at the India Shopping
Centre Forum 2016.

Globally, retail asset is almost a quarter of
global REITs value with 26% in retail, 12% in office, 27% in diversified and 3%
in hospitality while in the Asian region, retail accounts for 19%, office for
12%, diversified 56% and hospitality being 1%, Bansal added.

According to another expert, some countries have
certainly seen higher percentage of success due to introduction of REITs
earlier. “Unlike in India, where REITs are just about getting introduced, the countries
with several decades of REIT exposure has seen higher percentage of success in
US, Australia and Singapore and limited success in other countries like Hong
Kong,” the expert said.

REIT accounts for 53%, 50% and 78% of the real
estate market in US, UK and Australia, respectively while it was a miniscule 6%
in Hong Kong, the expert added.

Friday, 13 May 2016

The Villa, valued at Rs 90 crore, used to be Mallya's base in
Goa and also the venue of many of the famous parties hosted by him during the
'good times'

MUMBAI/PANJIM:
In a major setback to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, revenue officials in Goa
allowed the lenders to Kingfisher Airlines to take physical possession of
'Kingfisher Villa' in Candolim.

"The
North Goa collector has given an order in favour of banks to take physical
possession of the Kingfisher Villa," banking sources said late this
evening.

The
Villa, valued at Rs 90 crore, used to be Mallya's base in Goa and also the
venue of many of the famous parties hosted by him during the 'good times'.

Advocate
Parag Rao, who appeared on behalf of United Spirits, told PTI that the company
had withdrawn its claim before the collector yesterday. "We told the
collector that we will not press for the objection," he said.

Representing
the bankers' consortium, SBICAPS had sought physical possession of the property
under Section 14 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets
and Enforcement of Security Interest Act in late 2014.

However,
three of Mallya's companies - United Spirits Limited (USL), Kingfisher Airlines
and United Breweries - had objected to the move.

Last
week, media reports had said that Mallya put up a "villa manager" as
a caretaker to thwart the bank's attempt to take it over.

The villa
was mortgaged to the lenders while obtaining loans for the now defunct
airliner, but the caretaker, who claimed to be an employee of United Breweries,
and the subsequent establishment of tenancy rights would have made it difficult
for the banks to take over the property.

According
to reports, bankers' attempts to take possession of the villa were repeatedly
stalled by USL, which claims the first right to buy the property as it is a
tenant. USL had also approached a local court, citing provisions in the
Portuguese Civil Code to block auction of the property in the past.

This will
effectively deprive Mhada of all benefits during redevelopment, including
receiving a few thousand new flats that it could have sold at affordable rates.
The authority took this stance after Omkar Realtors, one of Mumbai's biggest
slum redevelopers, wrote to Mhada last year stating that 50,000 sq m land
covering 12 proposed societies be redeveloped under the slum rehab scheme.

Sources
said if redevelopment is allowed under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA),
private builders will walk away with the entire development rights worth thousands
of crores instead of Mhada.

Under
development control rule 33 (5), which governs redevelopment of Mhada
properties, a builder has to hand over to the housing authority a portion of
apartments free of cost for public housing. These flats are then sold by Mhada
at affordable rates mainly to economically weaker sections and low and
middle-income families. Insiders said redevelopment of the entire Bharat Nagar
layout under 33 (5) could have fetched Mhada at least 5,000 tenements for sale.

Recently,
eyebrows were raised when Mhada revoked permission granted to its tenants
occupying plot 11 in Bharat Nagar to undertake self-redevelopment on their one
acre plot. In 2014, the housing authority had even issued a draft lease
agreement to the Bharat Nagar Paradise Co-operative Housing Society.
"Suddenly, last week we received a letter, stating that the draft lease
issued to our society is cancelled," said local corporator Ilyas Shaikh.

Mhada
informed residents they have been declared as "slum dwellers" and
their redevelopment would be under the slum scheme. The housing authority
justified cancelling the draft lease, referring to a Bombay High Court order.

In the
late 1990s, four of the 26 Bharat Nagar plots were redeveloped under the SRA.
The court had allowed these four plots (numbers 7, 8, 9 and 12) to be
redeveloped under SRA because they were declared as a "censused
slum", while dismissing a petition filed by some residents. The 2010 order
said only four of the 1,000-odd people had moved court.

However,
Ebrahim Gani, chairman of Bharat Nagar Paradise Society (plot 11) said Mhada
was using a high court judgment which does not apply to them and the remaining
plots in the entire layout. "We wanted to redevelop our tenements along
with Mhada and do not want a builder to enter here," he said.

"The
high court order referred in the matter pertains to different pieces of land
with different backgrounds of development. This is not applicable to lands on
which we have been staying. Mhada's decision to enter into a lease agreement
with us was taken three years after the high court order," he added.

Last June, Omkar Realtors wrote to
Mhada CEO S S Zende, stating its intention to take up an integrated slum
redevelopment scheme here. The developer said all open spaces, pathways,
building spaces and amenity plots have been encroached upon over the years.
"The area has virtually become a slum with unsafe structures, narrow
lanes, poor sanitation, overcrowding, leading to conditions unsuitable for
human habitation. Occupants also possess photo passes of slum dwellers,"
it said.

But corporator Shaikh said under the slum
scheme, each family will receive only a 269 sq ft tenement. "If the
redevelopment is done under the Mhada 33 (5) scheme, a family will get 437.5 sq
ft house," he said.

Shaikh, a resident of plot 11,
said a majority of the 160 tenants here voted for self-redevelopment.
"Now, how do we tell them that a builder will take over the project,"
he added.

Of the 44 acres in Bharat Nagar, nine acres
comprise Mhada chawls, six acres contain Mhada transit camps and a 4.5-acre
plot called Tata Colony has been vacated by a builder to redevelop it under
section 33 (5).

Wednesday, 11 May 2016

The
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has suggested that the minimum height
for a building to fall under the high-rise category be increased to 32 metres
from 24 metres earlier

MUMBAI: The skyline of
India's commercial capital may change if two proposed amendments are approved,
leading to the addition of more high-rise buildings. The Municipal Corporation
of Greater Mumbai has suggested that the minimum height for a building to fall
under the high-rise category be increased to 32 metres from 24 metres earlier.

Apart
from this, an expert committee appointed by the state government has
recommended that the civic chief be made the sanctioning authority for
buildings up to a height of 120 metres, or about 40 floors.

Urban
planning experts said these moves will help simplify and expedite approvals for
real estate developments across the city.

"The
decision will improve the redevelopment potential of several dilapidated
buildings across Mumbai. This will also help in making much-needed open spaces
available and reduce corruption as it will reduce one layer of approvals,"
said Shirish Sukhatme, former president of the Practising Engineers, Architects
& Town Planners Association.

Currently,
permissions for buildings up to 70 metres or 21 floors are sanctioned by the
municipal commissioner, while developers are expected to seek app rovals from
the high-rise committee for any structure above this height. According to
architects, approvals used to be delayed because the committee meets every
three months and sometimes even after a gap of several months.

"The
proposed changes are good for overall development, including redevelopment and
improving infrastructure in already highly dense Mumbai city," said Gaurav
Gupta, director, Omkar Realtors & Developers. "Earlier norms set in
1990s are not in sync with the advancement in technologies in the last two
decades." According to Gupta, the developer delivered the 247-metre Omkar
Alta Monte tower in Mumbai's Malad suburb in less than the scheduled three
years due to the deployment of advanced technologies.

Vertical
growth is also expected to get a boost with the Municipal Corporation of
Greater Mumbai's proposal to increase the base floor space index (FSI) of 2 for
the entire city and allow the transfer of development rights to be used
anywhere.

Several
high-rises are coming up in the northern part of Mumbai along the Western
Express Highway due to the wider availability of land compared with the
southern part of the city. The shifting of the Central Business District from
Nariman Point to Bandra-Kurla Complex and the emergence of prospective office
centres in Andheri, Goregaon and Malad belts are leading to increasing demand
for residential and commercial properties around these areas.

According
to property consultants, more than 25 tall towers will be developed along the Western
Express Highway in north Mumbai from Andheri to Borivali and Dahisar over the
threefour next years.

As per
the current norms, any building over 24 metres high is expected to provide six
metres of open space from the road.This stipulation is holding back the
redevelopment of several old and dilapidated buildings across the city. The
revised height definition for high-rise buildings will pave the way for the
redevelopment of these buildings in high-density localities, experts added.

Tuesday, 10 May 2016

The court directed the Kolkata group to pay Rs 46 crore to
the Kanpur and Bombay group of the Singhania family in six weeks after which Dr
Singhania has eight weeks to vacate the bungalow

MUMBAI:
Over eight years after an arbitrator divided their considerable family
properties three-ways, the Bombay high court has directed Dr Vijaypat
Singhania, Raymond Group chairman emeritus, to honour the arbitral award and
hand over vacant possession of Kamla Cottage, a bungalow in Juhu to Kolkata
branch of the family. The bungalow, a prime property is a veritable museum and
is full of highly valuable art, artefacts and furniture worth crores. The order
to vacate the bungalow comes as a set back to Dr Singhania.

The court
directed the Kolkata group to pay Rs 46 crore to the Kanpur and Bombay group of
the Singhania family in six weeks after which Dr Singhania has eight weeks to
vacate the bungalow. The court thus rejected a plea by Dr Singhania's lawyer
for a stay of the order.

The
family divided into three groups--Calcutta Group, the Bombay Group and the
Kanpur Group were all members of the Singhania family that was carrying on
business under the name of "M/s. J.K. Bankers" (Juggilal Kamlapat
Bankers), a partnership firm. In 1987, by way of a family settlement, the partnership
firm was dissolved. The groups agreed to distribute the immovable properties.
But disputes arose over the manner of distribution.

In 2006
the Supreme Court appointed an arbitrator. In 2008 the arbitrator while
splitting the property passed an award directing that the Kolkata Group receive
the Juhu property, vacant and free from encumbrance. It also laid down which
group would get other properties in other parts of India.

The
Singhania family has thus been mired in a family dispute for decades. The order
by the HC passed on Friday was in response to a plea by the family of
Vijaypat's late brother from the Kolkata group for execution of the Arbitral
award and to ensure that Singhnia vacates the Juhu bungalow. The high court had
earlier upheld the award in 2009 and then again, in appeal, in 2013. The
challenge to the award was by both the Kanpur and Bombay group led by Vijaypat
Singhania. Vijaypath Singhania resides at Bhulabhai Desai road.

The HC
held that Singhania cannot refuse to hand over the Juhu bungalow on the ground
that he hasn't received properties due to him from the Kanpur group.

The HC
held both Kanpur and Bombay groups' conduct of dragging the litigation for 30
years despite entering into a family settlement in 1987 ''smacks of utter dishonesty
and of being self--centred. "Using their money power, the Kanpur Group and
Bombay Group (all are leading industrialists) have for their selfish motives
and greed only dragged on the litigation and consumed precious judicial time of
this court and also of the Apex Court,'' said Justice K R Shriram in his order.

The HC
said submissions by the Kanpur group that the "six month period has not
commenced for the handing over the possession as per the Arbitral Award'' was
"preposterous''.

"The
dispute between the parties has now been going on for almost thirty years. To
raise an issue that the 6 month period has not begun is a desperate attempt to
clutch at straws...The 6 months period is long over. The Kanpur group has not
even complied with the written confirmation as required under Paragraph 29 of
the Award. In absence of such a written confirmation that they are willing to
vacate the properties, they are in breach and have made themselves liable to
execution proceedings.''

Justice
Shriram in the order passed on Friday said, "it is true that family
disputes have a different concept and equity'' and added, "The parties are
members of a family descending from a common ancestor and they must sink their

disputes
and differences, settle and resolve their conflicting claims once and for all
in order to buy peace of mind and bring about complete harmony and goodwill in
the family. The Bombay Group and Kanpur Group should strive to enforce a family
arrangement and the award (decree) honestly.''

The HC
deferred a plea made by Vijaypat Singhania's estranged son Madhupati who sought
protection of his share of about Rs 3 crore from the money due to the Bombay
group. The court deferred it until the share out of the Rs.23.40 crores payable
to

Bombay Group
is determined independently.

Madhupati
meanwhile is also embroiled with his father in a separate legal battle,
initiated by his four children over rights claimed by them to ancestral and
family property.

The HC
ordered that "The Calcutta Group within six weeks to deposit the amounts
payable to the Bombay Group and the Kanpur Group with the Prothonotary and
Senior Master, High Court, Bombay. The Prothonotary to invest these amounts in
fixed deposit with a nationalised bank for a minimum period of one year at a time.
Within eight weeks of the Calcutta Group depositing these amounts, the Bombay
Group to vacate the Juhu property. If the Bombay Group fails to vacate, on the
expiry of eight weeks period, the Court Receiver to take actual physical
possession of the Juhu property and hand over the same to the Calcutta Group.
He may, should the need arise, even take police assistance to comply with these
directions.''

Monday, 9 May 2016

The act seeks to protect the rights of home buyers, mandates
registration of projects, including those that have not got completion or
occupancy certificates.

NEW
DELHI: The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2016, became an Act
on May 1, kick-starting the process of making rules as well as putting in place
institutional infrastructure to protect the interests of home buyers in India.

While
acknowledging that the act is a positive development, property experts said the
new rules should address problems faced by builders in getting sanctions and
approvals in a timely manner. "Government authorities should also be made
accountable for timebound approvals through the rules that will be made,"
said Anshuman Magazine, managing director of property advisory firm CBRE South
Asia.

He said
that if this happens, it will be one of the major steps towards the recovery of
the Indian real estate market and will improve the confidence of both consumers
and institutional investors - domestic or foreign. "Of course, it should
not become another hurdle for development, which will then raise property
prices in the long term," said Magazine.

The
Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation notified 69 of the act's 92
sections that come into force from May 1. Rules for implementing the provisions
of the act have to be formulated by the central and state governments within
six months - by October 31 - the maximum period stipulated in Section 84 of the
act.

The
housing ministry will make the rules for Union Territories while the Ministry
of Urban Development will do so for Delhi.

The key
to providing succour to home buyers will be the setting up of Real Estate
Regulatory Authorities, which will require all projects to be registered, and
the formation of Appellate Tribunals to adjudicate disputes.

According
to Section 20 of the act, state governments have to establish the regulatory
authorities within one year of the law coming into force. These authorities
will decide on the complaints of buyers and developers in 60 days.

The act
seeks to protect the rights of home buyers, mandates registration of projects,
including those that have not got completion or occupancy certificates.

Registration
will require builders to set aside 70% of the funds collected from buyers and
pay interest in case of delays. Any officer, preferably the secretary of the
department dealing with housing, can be appointed as the interim regulatory
authority.

Once the
regulators are set up, they will get three months to formulate regulations
concerning their functioning. Real Estate Appellate Tribunals need to be formed
within a year - by April 30, 2017. These fast-track tribunals will decide on
disputes over orders of the regulators within 60 days.

A
committee chaired by the secretary of the housing ministry has started work on
formulation of model rules so that states and UTs can frame their rules
quickly, besides ensuring uniformity across the country. The ministry will also
will come out with model regulations for the regulatory authorities.

The
remaining sections of the act that have to be notified relate to aspects such
as the functions and duties of promoters, rights and duties of allottees, prior
registration of real estate projects with the regulatory authorities, recovery
of interest on penalties, enforcement of orders, offences, penalties and
adjudication.

Considering
that there 12 months left for the regulatory authorities to be set up by the
states, builders are expected to speed up work to avoid the stringent
provisions of the new real estate regulatory act.

Saturday, 7 May 2016

The Dharavi redevelopment project once again drew a blank as
developers did not submit any bids. The date for submission has now been
extended to May 20

MUMBAI:
The Dharavi redevelopment project once again drew a blank as developers did not
submit any bids. The date for submission has now been extended to May 20.

Builders
have contested the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority's (DRA) claim that the
entire floor space index (FSI) of 4 can be consumed on the slum land itself.
They have pointed out that it is not so and have sought transfer of development
rights (TDR) to enable them to use the unutilized FSI elsewhere.

However,
the government cannot allow TDR as there is a Bombay high court order against
it for Dharavi redevelopment. "We have clearly mentioned in the
Development Control Regulations for Dharavi that there will be no TDR. And this
is on account of the high court order," said Nirmal Kumar Deshmukh, CEO of
DRA. Some of the prospective developers have also been asking for more FSI. In
return for a 25 sq m tenement, the DRA is offering an additional 17 sq m, which
the developer can utilize for the sale component. However, the demand is for an
additional 28 sq m, said sources.

DRA is
offering 25 sq m carpet for the tenement on which it has added an additional 5
sq m (30 sq m built-up area) and another 10 sq m for amenities such as society
office, health centre and aanganwadi for every 100 tenements.

"This
adds up to 40 sq m but we are giving an extra 2 sq m, which takes the total FSI
per tenement to 42 sq m. But developers want 53 sq m. It would be difficult
even to consume 40 sq m given the space constraint and height
restrictions," said sources.

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Do you think your house is too
small for it to appeal to buyers? It happens to the best of us. The things we
own gradually end up colonizing a lot of our free space, and the house which
felt “just right” a few years ago can suddenly feel as tiny as a shoe closet.

Fortunately, there are some
simple tricks you can try to supersize your small space. Most of these tricks
are a matter of changing perspective rather than opening up more square
footage. Before you try them, consider a real effort to declutter first. If your
declutter campaign falls short, though, these tactics may come to your rescue:

Lighten up the
walls. Color can make the difference between breezy, cozy,
and claustrophobic. Dark colors on walls make them seem smaller and denser,
while lighter ones broaden your view and reflect more light. While white can be
a bit harsh, there are other cheerful tones such as lemon, mint, and cornflower
which can transform a space.

Aim high. Many
times, our gaze tends to lock onto the things in the way of our feet. If you
have zones of heavy storage occupying square footage, look for ways to get
those items off the ground. Corner shelves, hidden cabinets, and even hanging
racks can do wonders for widening up narrow spaces. Hanging pictures higher up
on walls can make rooms feel taller, too.

Widen up the
windows. Big curtain rods which extend beyond the border of
the window can make a window seem larger, and making the move to keep them open
(perhaps with sheer drapes for privacy) can let in crucial light. If you have a
little renovation money, consider adding windows to rooms where less-than-ideal
lighting conditions exist.

Cast mirror magic. Amplifying
light is a big theme here, so position large mirrors across from windows to
create “windows” where no window can exist. Even if you don’t have a window
handy, a large mirror can double up the tiniest room.

Demand double duty
furniture. Hidden storage in large furniture can be a boon for
making the most diminutive room more manageable. Take, for example, raised bed
platforms with drawers built in the frame. Look for any opportunity to hide
storage in existing objects.

Hopefully these five tips will
make your small house more spacious. I’m happy to help you assess you with
hunting down the most suitable happy buyers for your house. Drop me a line if
you’re ready for the big time!